Irish Open
Aaron Rai & Robert MacIntyre – Top 20 Finish Including Ties
Bernd Wiesberger – Top 10 Finish Including Ties
Procore Championship
Beau Hossler – 1st Round Leader (each-way)
Sahith Theegala – Group A Winner
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
WHEN: Thursday, September 12th – Sunday, September 15th
WHERE: Royal County Down Championship Course, Northern Ireland
This year’s Irish Open takes place at Royal County Down for the first time since 2015. It is the final stop on the DP World Tour before the annual trip to Wentworth for the third Rolex Series event of the campaign.
With valuable Ryder Cup points up for grabs, the trip to the seaside town of Newcastle represents a great opportunity for some of Europe’s hopefuls to follow in the footsteps of last week’s winner Matt Wallace and begin the quest for a spot at Bethpage Black.
Having won his first PGA Tour title at the Wyndham Championship last month to catapult himself just outside the world’s top 20, a place on Luke Donald’s European team feels like the next natural step in the career of Aaron Rai.
This could be the perfect tournament to kickstart that pursuit. Rai has performed well at links-like set-ups throughout his career, having won at the Renaissance Club and registered several further top 10s in Scotland.
The same applies to Robert MacIntyre. The reigning Scottish Open champion is more than comfortable in windy conditions and arrives in Northern Ireland having given a good account of himself in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Both are rightfully among the favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday and they should at least be towards the top end of the leaderboard.
It feels like only a matter of time before Bernd Wiesberger collects another DP World Tour title. More than three years have passed since his last triumph, but three top-10 berths in his previous eight starts have come despite struggles with the putter which are finally showing signs of turning around.
The Austrian was denied in a three-way playoff when the Irish Open was last hosted at Royal County Down Golf Club and he can produce a similar performance this week if the flat stick cooperates.
WHEN: Thursday, September 12th – Sunday, September 15th
WHERE: Silverado Resort and Spa – North Course, Arizona, USA
The PGA Tour events between now and the end of 2024 carry huge significance for players not in the top 50 after the FedEx Cup playoffs. Those individuals are now playing for their Tour cards for next year, while the top 10 not otherwise exempt golfers during this period will be eligible for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Genesis Invitational in 2025.
A hard-fought T12 at the Wyndham Championship was not enough for Beau Hossler to reach the FedEx St. Jude Championship at the beginning of the postseason. The Californian, ranked 85th heading into the FedEx Cup Fall, could do with a strong showing at a venue where he has registered four consecutive top-30 finishes.
He has never been in contention to win the formerly-named Fortinet Championship, largely due to his inability to put together successive rounds in the mid-60s. His Friday 65 in 2020 came after a Thursday 73, and he had a similar problem in 2021 when a second-round 64 was sandwiched in between two 70s.
Hossler ranks fifth in round one scoring average for 2024 and is clearly capable of a superb day around Silverado Resort & Spa, so we will chance him to lead the way at the close of play on Thursday.
Last year’s champion Sahith Theegala is bidding to become the third man in nine years to defend the Procore Championship, and you would be brave to bet against him after his stunning Tour Championship display.
The more sensible punt, though, is to back him to win Group A, which includes Wyndham Clark, Corey Conners, Luke Clanton and Max Homa.
Clark and Conners have been playing well and Clanton has had a remarkable year but Theegala is the only one of the five that can boast both an exemplary course record and superb current form.
Homa is a two-time event winner, but has had a year to forget and doesn’t look like contending for the hat-trick.
Irish Open
Aaron Rai & Robert MacIntyre – Top 20 Finish Including Ties
Bernd Wiesberger – Top 10 Finish Including Ties
Procore Championship
Beau Hossler – 1st Round Leader (each-way)
Sahith Theegala – Group A Winner
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
